1. Field
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to an ultrasound probe and a method of operating the ultrasound probe, and more particularly, to an ultrasound probe connected to various diagnostic apparatuses and a method of operating the ultrasound probe.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ultrasound systems irradiate an ultrasonic signal generated from a transducer of an ultrasound probe onto an internal part of an object and receive information of an echo signal reflected from the internal part of the object, thereby acquiring an image of the internal part of the object. In particular, ultrasound systems are used for the medical purpose of observing the inside of an object, detecting a foreign material, assessing internal injuries, imaging fetuses and the like.
Ultrasound systems have stabilities higher than those of diagnostic apparatuses using X-rays, display an image in real time, and are safe because there is no exposure to radioactivity, and thus may be widely used on their own and/or along with other medical image diagnostic apparatuses.
It may be inconvenient for a user to acquire an ultrasound image of an object by using an ultrasound probe due to a communication cable used to connect the ultrasound probe and a diagnostic apparatus. Further, the communication cable poses challenges for manufacturers of the probes and of the diagnostic apparatuses, as the real and imaginary impedances of the cable and the connectors of diagnostic apparatuses must be matched very carefully, in order to avoid noise levels and the like, which may affect the resulting image quality to be displayed by or on the diagnostic apparatuses, in particular in embodiments where signal processing to generate image data is achieved in the diagnostic apparatuses and the response signal is transmitted from the probe to the diagnostic apparatus.
To improve operability of the ultrasound probe by removing the cable and/or the inconveniences caused by the communication cable, there may be a need for a wireless ultrasound probe that is connected to an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus by wireless communication.
Moreover, when a wireless (or wired) ultrasound probe is subordinate to one ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, since each of a plurality of ultrasound diagnostic apparatuses needs to include a plurality of wireless ultrasound probes, there are problems in that manufacturing costs are high and management is difficult.
Different probes and/or types of probes, which are all subordinate to one particular diagnostic apparatus, cannot be employed with any other diagnostic apparatus. Consequently, for each diagnostic apparatus, the hospital or other facility needs to acquire a full range of probes for each diagnostic apparatus, which increases costs. In relation to management it is noted, that, for instance, an operator must be aware precisely to which diagnostic apparatus a chosen probe for examination of a particular object belongs. Otherwise, communication problems will occur and medical imaging may turn out not to be possible, and a person as the object under examination will be caused concerns and possibly even anxiety, when the medical equipment does not immediately appear to be functioning properly, when initiating the examination. Thus, there is a need for a ultrasound probe, for instance a wireless ultrasound probe, that is not subordinate to one ultrasound diagnostic apparatus but may communicate with a plurality of ultrasound diagnostic apparatuses.
Based in these considerations, the inventive concept of the present disclosure may be equally applicable in embodiments of probes employing wired communication connections with diagnostic apparatuses, for instance when signal processing is performed in the probes.